Nagato Mitsuaki, the son-in-law, figured that at the current pace of the police investigation, it was best to ditch his disguise fast. If he could keep the real Hideomi Nagato "missing," he might still get another chance to pose as him and take out the chairman later.
Thinking this, Nagato Mitsuaki flicked away his cigarette and headed toward the warehouse to get rid of the bandages and knitted cap he'd stashed there.
Up high on the balcony, Jiangxia Tongzhi was watching him.
—Just now, Nagato Mitsuaki had tossed his cigarette butt to the ground without even stepping on it.
A still-burning cigarette was a classic fire hazard. Nagato Mitsuaki had personally witnessed a fire twenty years ago, and apparently still hadn't learned a damn thing.
Jiangxia leaned lazily against the balcony railing, pulled out a lighter, and lit a stick of ghost mint.
Click. Click. Click.
The flame flared up suddenly, and the air shimmered as though reality had warped. In just a few seconds, the ghost mint was completely consumed—like something invisible had opened its mouth wide and sucked it down, boosting its power.
Ghosts or shikigami usually couldn't affect the physical world.
But if you pumped in enough power, they could still flap their butterfly wings and stir up a breeze.
As the ghost mint's ashes fluttered down, the cigarette butt Nagato Mitsuaki had discarded seemed to catch a sudden gust of wind. It rolled along the ground—once, twice, faster and faster—until it slipped neatly into the warehouse.
Nearby surveillance caught every moment of the "wind blown" cigarette.
The Nagato house had plenty of yard equipment—and a lot of fuel in that warehouse.
Jiangxia wiped some ash off himself with a damp towel. Then, a deafening explosion rocked the courtyard.
A blast of fire and thunderous noise snapped everyone in the Nagato household out of their daze. No one had seen that coming.
—Least of all the person with the knife, who had followed the son-in-law out there, determined to go full murder mode.
Miyuki glimpsed Nagato Mitsuaki's body flying through the air from the blast. Then the shockwave hit her, knocking her flat and filling her ears with a high-pitched ring.
In the chaos, she thought she saw two blurry, familiar figures appear before her. Their lips moved, whispering something kind and gentle.
Miyuki stared blankly, the fingers clenched around the knife trembling—then going slack. Tears fell, and with a soft clatter, the blade dropped from her hands.
…
Elsewhere, Jiangxia glanced at the fiery glow outside the window, then turned away, looking supremely uninterested.
He eyed the used wet wipes, mentally counting how many ghost mint cigarette's were in there. His eye twitched slightly.
Still, it had been worth it—to abduct a new ghost and avoid the mess of killing or getting killed by a hidden boss. Not bad. Not bad at all…
…
The police kept digging through the chaos of the cursed villa, and the fire department quickly showed up to deal with the blaze.
Not long after, Miyuki confessed to everything: the location of Hideomi Nagato's body, and the whole murder plot.
What she did wasn't exactly legal, but it didn't make her a murderer either.
Jiangxia sent Tengu to collect the pair of slow ghosts and deliver on his promise.
Although the ghosts had lingering regrets, they'd taken revenge with their own hands—and even got to speak to their daughter.
One look at the ashtray next to Jiangxia, and the barely disguised resentment swirling around the psychic, was enough to shut them up. They signed the contract without complaint.
Jiangxia had his new ghost.
While everyone else was distracted, he snuck off to test out his new acquisition.
And instantly spiraled into a state of Buddhist detachment.
At first, Jiangxia had hoped for something normal: maybe an adult male disguise or a subtle female one.
But after throwing the new ghost into a puppet, the result was… exactly the same as the ghost form.
It could only appear as a pair of people locked in an embrace. And they couldn't be separated.
Because it was basically two puppets fused together, it consumed way more energy than usual.
Also, if he took this weird conjoined ghost couple onto the street, well… yeah. The return rate would be through the roof.
Jiangxia stood in silence. Then he tried shrinking one of them.
The result?
Now it just looked like a pregnant woman in labor.
Or, if you flipped it, a handsome guy with a massive beer belly.
The puppet struggled valiantly to suck in its gut. But failed.
Jiangxia quietly slumped into a corner, counting how many ghost mints had died for this absurdity, and fell into deep thought.
…
Ran Mouri, Hattori Heiji, and Conan were left with a mix of emotions after hearing Miyuki's confession.
When it was all over, the three of them suddenly felt like something—or someone—was missing.
Ran and Conan looked around. No Jiangxia.
They searched the rooms and finally found him standing alone on a distant balcony, looking dejected.
Ran, Heiji, and Conan froze. Seeing Jiangxia like that, they jumped to conclusions.
"Did you… see through the truth behind everything today?" Ran asked gently. Why else would he look so depressed?
Jiangxia: "…?"
But the others were already nodding to themselves. Of course—that must be it. Jiangxia must be blaming himself for failing to stop the tragedy.
After all, the seeds had been planted twenty years ago, and the final spark was just yesterday…
Heiji's chest ached in sympathy. Jiangxia must feel the same pain they did when they failed to crack a case—maybe worse, since this was about real lives…
With that thought, Heiji's resentment toward Jiangxia faded.
He even switched to "bromance mode," grabbed Jiangxia by the shoulders, and gave him a shake.
"Cheer up! It's not your fault at all!"
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 23/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*